The Congress party’s former president Sonia Gandhi hit out at ruling BJP government over the recently passed 33% Reservation Bill for women saying, “Instead of mitigating the problems faced by women, last nine years have seen a sustained effort on part of the Modi government to turn us women purely into symbols, to be counted and appreciated only in their restricted traditional roles in a patriarchal framework.” Sonia Gandhi who was speaking at the Women’s Rights Conference organised in Chennai by the DMK added, “Just as in every other frontier of rights, freedoms, equity, and equality, so also in the case of women, all the remarkable gains of the last 70 years have disappeared.”
She said that like-minded parties of the INDIA alliance can and will take the urgent steps needed to make women’s equality a reality. “We tend often to see women as mothers, sisters, and daughters. These relationships are the foundation of family life and society. But they position women in terms of relationships with men. We must advance from this and enable women to reach a status where they are seen as individuals who are equal in all respects in life, in work, and in status. That is our goal and that is what we must fight for,” she told the audience.
Ahead of the 2024 general elections and assembly elections in 5 states, women politicians from various parties in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc gathered to commemorate the centenary birth anniversary of M Karunanidhi, the erstwhile Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and Patriarch of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on October 14, Saturday. The event called ‘Women’s Rights Conference’, was also to recall the special schemes and projects that were introduced for the women of Tamil Nadu ever since the self-respect movement began in the state.
While addressing thousands of women who gathered at the event, Sonia recalled the journey of representation of women in the political sphere in India and highlighted how her husband and former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi introduced 33% reservation to women in local panchayats.
“Rajivji brought in the historic 33% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj and local self-governments. This spurred an entirely new phenomenon of women entering roles of leadership at the grassroots level. It was a vital stepping stone towards the reservation of a similar one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha for women, which the Indian National Congress has pioneered in parliament and outside,” she added further. Sonia also appreciated that the DMK government brought reservations for women in local elections in Tamil Nadu in 1973.
Along with Sonia, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra participated at the event. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and People’s Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti, and Nationalist Congress Party working president and MP Supriya Sule, Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar’s Minister for Food and Consumer Protection Leshi Singh, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Rakhi Bidlan, CPI(M) politburo member Subhashini Ali, CPI national executive committee member Annie Raja, and Trinamool Congress’s Sushmita Dev also participated in the event.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin who spoke at the event said that it is a historical duty for every party in India to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party. Rights of individuals were depleted in the country, he added. "There are doubts looming large among people whether our parliamentary system will be continued, whether our democracy will sustain," he said, adding that Modi, in the name of one nation, one language, one religion, one culture, one election, one exam, one food, is trying to bring in a one-party rule. "It will create a one-man dictatorship. This is the reason why BJP should be completely defeated in the upcoming parliamentary elections," MK Stalin noted.
While hitting out at the BJP rule over the 33% reservation Bill, Stalin said that when it was tabled in 1996 during the United Front regime, there was no such demand of completing the census first. "Even when it was tabled again in 2010, our UPA alliance did not come up with any such conditions,” Stalin said.
Speaking at the event, MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said that women’s opinions were largely neglected while making policies. “Politics should be determined, defined, and decided with the opinions, concerns, and aspirations of women. Without that, there should be no politics, no policy-making, and no governance. Let us come together, let us rewrite history, and make sure there is justice for not only women but justice for everybody, every human being in this country,” she said.
Leaders from other parties, in the event, highlighted how the BJP regime turned blind to crimes committed against women in the country including how the Modi government handled the women wrestlers’ protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and the Manipur riots.
Sushmita Dev of All India Trinamool Congress said “The BJP with an absolute majority delayed the reservation for women and gave us a bill that was shackled with pre-conditions,” adding that there is no guarantee that this bill will become a reality soon.
Taking a dig at the Modi government, she said “We should be ashamed that the BJP MP who was accused of molesting our wrestlers was sitting in the parliament when the debate was going on the reservation bill. Women were paraded naked in Manipur and raped. Even then the PM's conscience was not shaken”.
Annie Raja who participated in the event said that it was possible to have a discussion with women about political representation because of leaders like Thanthai Periyar, Ayyankali, and Iyothee Thass. "It became possible as these leaders, reformists believed in equality in the society," Annie said. "As women, we are in a state of perpetual insecurity," she said adding that since the BJP assumed office in 2014, the crimes against women have increased and the degree of cruelty has become intense. And the conviction rate is really poor," Annie highlighted.